The vision of the Faith Community Network and Volunteer Chaplaincy Services program is to provide a full range of programs and services that will turn around the lives of troubled youth and ensure that voluntary chaplaincy services are available to youth and their families during times of family crisis.

The Foundation serves to changes lives - the lives of students, their parents, and the citizens in our community - by promoting delinquency prevention, intervention and educational opportunities for youth.

Current Initiatives

DJJ launched a three-county pilot project in August 2012, making Florida the first state in the US to
attempt to identify victims immediately upon arrest.

In March 2015, DJJ expanded this initiative statewide, putting an improved victim identification
tool in all of Florida’s juvenile assessment centers and intake facilities.

This Human Trafficking Screening Tool, also used by the Department of Children and Families, screens
for both labor and sex trafficking and is utilized with male, female and transgender youth that are at-risk
for trafficking victimization.

Allows DJJ to serve as a safety net for children not identified by law enforcement. This is important
because from July 2009-January 2013, only 3% of suspected victims entered the juvenile justice system on
prostitution charges. Most enter on battery or theft charges.

The pilot incorporated the only research-based, trauma-informed assessment tool in the nation, created
by Shared Hope International.

The pilot added questions created by DJJ staff to the detention intake process. All youth were
assessed for all forms of human trafficking, regardless of charge. Questions were gender neutral for both the
suspect and child victim.

When victims were identified, they were referred to an in-house mental health professional, reported
to the Florida Abuse Hotline and DJJ’s Central Communications Center. An alert was entered into
DJJ’s Central Communications Center and an alert was entered into our data system to track the child and
ensure they received appropriate services.

Allows DJJ to serve as a safety net for children not identified by law enforcement. This is important
because from July 2009-January 2013, only 3% of suspected victims entered the Florida juvenile justice system
on prostitution charges. Most enter on battery or theft charges.

In March 2014, DJJ and the Department of Children and Families created two working groups to assess the
tools available to identify victims of human trafficking and the services available to help them heal. These
workgroups provided recommendations to the Departments in 2014 on how to improve victim identification
and enhance the continuum of services available to victims in Florida. View the workgroup's recommendations.

Secretary Daly serves on the statutorily-created Statewide Human Trafficking Council, which
consists of 15 members who represent state and local organizations. The Council aims to enhance efforts to
combat trafficking and support victims. Learn more about the Council.

Human trafficking is a problem no agency can solve on its own. DJJ is committed to working with its
dozens of partners to identify victims and provide them with the right service at the right time. To this end,
DJJ hosts quarterly update calls with over 20 agency partners where participants share their
organization’s initiatives and invite collaboration.

The Florida Attorney’s General Office, in partnership with DJJ and the Statewide Council on Human
Trafficking, will be hosting the fourth annual statewide Human Trafficking Summit on October 29-30, 2015 at
the University of South Florida in Tampa. This year's summit will focus on preventing labor and sex
trafficking of children and adults. Profession-specific breakout sessions and training opportunities will be
available to law enforcement, the legal community, service providers, healthcare professionals, educators, and
other first responders. View information about registration, hotel and sessions.